Over the course of my Lupus I have been putting on weight -- to the point where it concerned me enought to look into bariatric surgery. Something called a gastric sleeve which is more than a lapband but not as radical as a bypass. And my Dr's approved because I my lupus seems to be stabilized and the surgery is laprascopic.

However, my doctor never indicated that any of my monthly labs showed me as pre-diabetic. (Diabetes happens to be a factor that makes insurance more likely to cover the procedure.) I ran my regular labs on Friday and also wanted them to check for a urine infection. Out of those tests I came back with a glucose level of 132. (They left a message on my voicemail.) I don't know what my readings were before, but I assume if I was over 100 and pre-diabetic my Dr. would have told me....

From their message on my voicemail, it sounds like they want me to come in at my earliest convience -- but I am traveling and have my performance review tomorrow and meetings with our CEO tomorrow and Wednesday. This is something that can wait a few days, right? On the up side -- if I am diabetic -- my insurance is likely to pay for the gastric sleeve, I guess....

Any thoughts or guidance ? Obviously weight loss will help, but I'm not making any progress on that front lately. I'm just reeling a little, because this seemed to come out of the blue. Not from the perspective that lupies get diabetes -- but that there was no "pre-diabetic" period -- at least not that I was aware of...

How "diabetic" is a reading of 132

hatlady

12-11-2007, 12:43 PM

I can't comment on how bad a reading of 132 might be, I think we have some lab results links on the forum - maybe you can check there. OR....Maybe Saysusie will chime in!

I'd probably err to the cautious. Call the doc, see if you can wait a bit, and possibly the doc can suggest some dietary changes to keep your blood sugar in check until you can get in.

If the doc says "TODAY" - listen. And go.

Saysusie

12-12-2007, 10:01 AM

The "Fasting Blood Glucose" test is the primary test given for diagnosing diabetes. It tests your blood to see if there is an elevated blood sugar level after an overnight fast (not eating anything after midnight). A value above 140 mg/dl on at least two occasions typically means that a person has diabetes.
Normal people have fasting sugar levels that generally run between 70-110 mg/dl. That, too, depends upon the facility. At Kaiser, they want our normal to be between 70-100!
They want you to run another test to see if you have a high level on at least two occasions. You might consider going on a low-sugar diet now. Try only sugar-free items (be careful to read what the sugar substitute is!). My mother has diabetes and her doctors approved Splenda for her sugar substitute. Many items use Splenda (as opposed to sweet n low or that blue one). Exercise is also a good way to control your blood glucose level if you are able to do so.
I cannot give you advice on waiting to do this other test. I would suggest that you let your doctor know about your schedule and ask him/her if it is imperative that you do it immediately!